High heel shoe of improved comfort

ABSTRACT

In a high heel shoe the heel seat is angled upwards approximately 3-5 degrees. The insole follows the natural shape of the inside long arch of the foot so that the medial arch of the foot is raised higher than the lateral arch of the foot in order to support the natural angle of the calcaneus, the navicular, the medial cuneiform and the first metatarsal. The angle of the heel seat is more acute relative to the ground looking from the lateral side of the shoe. A triangular dome bump on the insole of the shoe has one corner behind the second metatarsal head, a second corner behind the fourth metatarsal head and the final corner near mid-foot. Material is added beneath the sole of the insole so that the greatest thickness is beneath the metatarsal heads and tapers to zero at the end of the insole toward the toes.

This application claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 ofProvisional Application No. 60/947,702 filed Jul. 3, 2007.

This invention relates to a high heel shoe which is shaped and arrangedto improve the comfort of wearing for extended periods.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

While many women wear high heeled shoes for fashion and for theattractive appearance, they are accepted by the wearers to be veryuncomfortable over extended periods. Despite this renowned discomfort,little attention has been given to trying to improve the comfort and itappears merely to be accepted that the pain is a by-product of thedesire to wear such shoes.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,782,015 Dananberg issued Jul. 21, 1998 but now abandonedand related Design Pat. D535,811 issued Jan. 30, 2007 appears torepresent one of only very few attempts to ameliorate the problem. Thistechnology is sold commercially under the trade mark “Insolia” and isused in shoes sold by DKNY and JC Penny under the trade mark “Ipanema”.

Cole Haan has recently made attempts to collaborate with Nike using airspring insert technology arising from sportswear shoes but this does notattack the problem from the foot structure point of view.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is one object of the invention to provide a high heel shoe which isshaped and arranged with the intention of reducing the level ofdiscomfort suffered by the wearer.

According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a high heelshoe for receiving the foot of a wearer, the shoe being shaped for aleft or right foot with a medial shape which is different from a lateralshape and comprising:

a shoe outsole, outer shank and a shoe heel for engaging the ground;

a shoe insole on which the foot of the wearer is placed including a heelseat extending from the rear of the shoe to a break line across theshoe, an inner shank extending downwardly and forwardly from the breakline to a ball line across the shoe and a forefoot in front of the ballline;

wherein the heel seat of the insole is arranged such that, with the shoeresting on the ground so as to define an imaginary horizontal lineacross the heel seat from the lateral edge of the shoe to the medialedge of the shoe, the upper surface of the heel seat on which the heelrests is angled relative to the imaginary line so that the medial edgeof the heel seat is lifted upwardly relative to the lateral edge of theheel seat.

Preferably the heel seat is concave between the medial and lateraledges.

Preferably the lifting of the heel seat at the medial edge is obtainedby providing a thickening of the insole at the heel seat.

Preferably the medial edge is lifted relative to the lateral edge todefine an angle which lies in the range approximately 3-5 degrees.

Preferably the medial edge is lifted relative to the lateral edge todefine an angle which is less than 10 degrees.

Preferably the medial edge of the heel seat is raised along the lengthof the heel seat from the rear of the shoe to the break line.

Preferably the arch support of the insole defines a medial line adjacentthe medial edge and a lateral line adjacent the lateral edge eachextending from the break line to the ball line where the medial line israised relative to the lateral line so as to follow the natural shape ofthe medial long arch of the foot in order to support the natural angleof the calcaneus, the navicular, the medial cuneiform and the firstmetatarsal.

Preferably the medial line commences at the break line at a heightgreater than the lateral line at the break line created by the elevationof the medial edge of the heel seat.

Preferably an arched raised dome is provided on the shank of the insolewith the dome being spaced inwardly from the lateral edge and outwardlyfrom the medial edge with the dome commencing at or adjacent the ballline and extending upwardly along the shank to a position underlying thebase of the metatarsals.

Preferably the dome is generally triangle shaped tapering upwardly andinwardly from the ball line.

Preferably the dome extends across the ball line from one apex locatedbehind the second metatarsal head to a second apex behind the fourthmetatarsal head.

Preferably the dome is in the range 0.3 to 1.0 centimetres in height.

Preferably the dome is formed of a resilient material applied on top ofthe insole.

Preferably the insole is of increased thickness at the ball linerelative to the forward end of the insole.

Preferably the increased thickness at the ball line extends in front ofthe ball line and tapers therefrom in thickness gradually toward theforward end of the insole and extends rearwardly into the shank andtapers gradually rearwardly into the shank.

According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a highheel shoe for receiving the foot of a wearer, the shoe being shaped fora left or right foot with a medial shape which is different from alateral shape and comprising:

a shoe outsole, outer shank and a shoe heel for engaging the ground;

a shoe insole on which the foot of the wearer is placed including a heelseat extending from a rear of the shoe to a break line across the shoe,an inner shank extending downwardly and forwardly from the break line toa ball line across the shoe and a forefoot in front of the ball line;

wherein the arch support of the insole defines a medial line adjacentthe medial edge and a lateral line adjacent the lateral edge eachextending from the break line to the ball line where the medial line israised relative to the lateral line so as to follow the natural shape ofthe medial long arch of the foot in order to support the natural angleof the calcaneus, the navicular, the medial cuneiform and the firstmetatarsal.

According to a third aspect of the invention there is provided a highheel shoe for receiving the foot of a wearer, the shoe being shaped fora left or right foot with a medial shape which is different from alateral shape and comprising:

a shoe outsole, outer shank and a shoe heel for engaging the ground;

a shoe insole on which the foot of the wearer is placed including a heelseat extending from a rear of the shoe to a break line across the shoe,an inner shank extending downwardly and forwardly from the break line toa ball line across the shoe and a forefoot in front of the ball line;

wherein an arched raised dome is provided on the shank of the insolewith the dome being spaced inwardly from the lateral edge and outwardlyfrom the medial edge with the dome commencing at or adjacent to the ballline and extending upwardly along the shank to a position underlying thebase of the metatarsals.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention there is provided a highheel shoe for receiving the foot of a wearer, the shoe being shaped fora left or right foot with a medial shape which is different from alateral shape and comprising:

a shoe outsole, outer shank and a shoe heel for engaging the ground;

a shoe insole on which the foot of the wearer is placed including a heelseat extending from a rear of the shoe to a break line across the shoe,an inner shank extending downwardly and forwardly from the break line toa ball line across the shoe and a forefoot in front of the ball line;

wherein the insole is of increased thickness at the ball line relativeto the forward end of the insole.

Thus the arrangement described hereinafter provides the followingfeatures of importance in the modified design:

1. MEDIAL HEEL POST not to exceed 10 degrees.

The heel seat is designed such that the inside of the heel is angledupwards approximately 3-5 degrees depending on heel height from level.The end result is that the inside of the heel is wedged upwardly.

2. MEDIAL LONGUTUDINAL ARCH SUPPORT

The shoe is designed so that the insole follows the natural shape of theinside long arch of the foot. It begins by following the line created bythe wedge of the heel seat toward the mid-foot. The net result is thatthe medial arch of the foot is raised higher than the lateral arch ofthe foot in order to support the natural angle of the calcaneus, thenavicular, the medial cuneiform and the first metatarsal.

3. LATERAL ARCH

The angle of the heel seat is more acute relative to the ground lookingfrom the lateral side of the shoe. In an attempt to offload someweight-bearing from the balls of the feet to the heel, the angle of theheel seat is moved more parallel the ground.

4. METATARSAL DOME

In an attempt to accommodate the parabolic nature of the metatarsalheads in the transverse plane a dome bump is added to the insole of theshoe. The dome is an irregularly shaped triangle. One corner lies behindthe second metatarsal head. The second corner lies behind the fourthmetatarsal head and the final corner lies near mid-foot. The dome shouldnot exceed 1 centimetre in height.

5. ROCKER BOTTOM SOLE

Material is added beneath the sole of the insole. The greatest thicknessnot to exceed one centimetre lies beneath the metatarsal heads andtapers to zero at the end of the insole moving toward the toes. Theeffect is to move the contact point of the forefoot back away from themetatarsal heads to the arch. A slight rocker built into the build-upserves to move the wearer over the metatarsal heads more quickly tominimize full weight-bearing on the metatarsal heads.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

One embodiment of the invention will now be described in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is provided for the convenience of the reader to show a plan viewof a foot of a wearer identifying the components mentioned hereinafterto define locations of the foot relative to the shoe.

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the shoe according to the presentinvention showing in dash line the location of a line along a medial ofthe shoe and in chain dot line a line along a lateral of the shoe.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the shoe of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a rear elevational view of the shoe of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is an isometric view of the shoe of FIG. 2 showing the insoleonly for convenience of illustration.

In the drawings like characters of reference indicate correspondingparts in the different figures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

For convenience of the reader, FIG. 1 shows the bones of the foot so asto assist in locating the positions on the shoe of the variouscomponents of the shoe in relation to the foot of the wearer. It will beappreciated that the size of the shoe will vary so that it matches thesize of the foot to which it is intended to follow and therefore thelocations of various components on the shoe are related to thearrangement of the foot rather than specific dimensions on the shoeitself.

Conventionally high heeled shoes comprise a shoe outsole 11, a shoeshank portion 12 and a heel 13. These components form the outer of theshoe which is intended to engage the ground.

In addition the shoe includes an insole generally indicated at 14 whichincludes a forefoot 15 of the insole, a shank portion 16 of the insoleand a heel seat 17 of the insole.

The shoe further includes an upper 18 which is shaped and arranged toprovide the attractive appearance required for fashion shoesparticularly high heeled shoes of the type of which the presentinvention is concerned.

The present invention is concerned particularly with shoes having a highheel which is defined for the purpose is a shoe having a heel heightgreater than 2.0″. It is well known that such shoes provide significantdiscomfort for the wearer but are still worn by many wearers in view ofthe attractive appearance.

As best shown in FIG. 3, the insole 14 defines the heel seat 17 which isseparated from the shank portion 16 by a break line 20 and the shankportion 16 is separated from the forefoot portion 15 by a ball line 21.The break line and the ball line thus form locations where the insolechanges angle from the shallowly inclined heel seat 17 into the sharperinclined shank portion 16 and the generally horizontal forefoot portion15.

Shoes also of course have a medial or inner side and a lateral or outerside as shown in FIG. 3. Thus the shoe includes a medial edge 22 of theinsole and a lateral edge 23 of the insole. An imaginary line adjacentthese edges is marked on the shoe to provide a medial line 24 and alateral line 25 which are arranged at positions to engage the foot ofthe wearer when placed on the insole.

The conventional shoe as described above is modified in the arrangementdescribed herein in a number of ways to provide an improved comfort forthe wearer.

Firstly as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the heel seat 17 is modified relativea conventional heel seat in that a wedge portion 17A is applied on theunderside of the layer 17B forming the insole itself.

It will be appreciated in this regard that the insole is conventionallyformed from a sheet of a constant thickness such as leather or plasticsmaterial where the whole of the insole is a single flat sheet which isshaped to form over the components of the shoe and is laid as a stripover the outsole and the heel.

In the present arrangement the sheet forming the insole is modified bythe addition of additional components which form the insole into therequired shape as described herein.

Thus the wedge portion 17A shown best in FIG. 4 is applied on theunderside of the sheet portion 17B on the medial side so as to extendfrom the medial edge 22 while tapering down in thickness toward thelateral edge 23. At the same time the wedge member 17A has a curvedupper surface 17C so that the upper surface 17d of the heel seat isconcave across its width.

Thus a horizontal imaginary line 17E across the shoe at the heel definesan angle 17F relative to a line 17G generally following the shape of thewedge portion 17A. In this way the medial side of the heel seat israised by the wedge member 17A at an angle of the order of 3 to 5degrees first to raise the medial edge 22 up by a distance of the orderof 0.3 to 1.0 cm.

As shown in FIG. 2 the raised medial edge 22 relative to the lowermedial edge 23 continues along the length of the heel seat from the rearedge 25 to the break line 20.

As also shown in FIG. 2, the medial edge 22 includes a portion 22A atthe shank 16 which is raised relative to the medial edge portion 23A atthe shank 16. Thus the line 24 which is the medial line of the insolewhich engages the medial side of the foot of the wearer is designed sothat this medial line 24 follows the natural shape of the medial longarch of the foot. It commences at the raised portion 22B of the medialedge of the heel seat at the break line 20 and it continues through theshank down toward the ball line 21. Along this full length, thereforethe net result is that the medial arch of the foot is raised higher thanthe lateral arch of the foot in order to support the natural angle ofthe calcaneus, the navicular, the medial cuneiform and the firstmetatarsal.

In addition to this inclination of the insole from the lateral sideincreasing in height gradually toward the medial side both at the heelseat and the shank, there is additionally provided a dome 30 which isapplied onto the inside surface of the insole as a raised member havinga height at its central location of the order of 0.3 to 1.0 cm. The dometapers outwardly to its side edges so that its height graduallydecreases. The dome is applied on top of the inside surface of the shankportion of the insole. The dome is generally triangular in shape havinga first apex 31, a second apex 32 across the ball line 21 where the dometapering toward the top apex 33. The dome is spaced inwardly from themedial line 24 and is spaced away from the lateral line 25. The dome islocated so that the apex 31 lies just behind the second metatarsal headof the foot. The apex 32 lies just behind the fourth metatarsal head.Thus at these locations the dome has tapered to a low height or zeroheight and in between these two apexes the dome rises to a maximumheight along a center line 35. Thus the dome is arched across its width.The apex 33 is located adjacent the center of the shoe so that it liesunderneath the base of the third metatarsal. This arrangement providessupport for the parabolic nature of the metatarsal heads in thetransverse plane. In this way the dome provides support for themetatarsals of the foot of the wearer and assists in maintaining thearch shape.

A further addition to the insole comprises of the addition of athickening piece 40 located at the ball line 21. This thickening piece40 is at its thickest at the ball line 21 and tapers forwardly to afront edge 41 on the forefoot portion and tapers rearwardly to a rearedge 42 on the shank. This thickened portion extends across the fullwidth of the insole. The greatest thickness at the ball line isgenerally of the order of 0.3 to 1.0 cm and is located beneath themetatarsal heads of the foot and tapers to zero forwardly andrearwardly. The effect of this is to move the contact point of theforefoot away from the metatarsal heads to the arch of the foot.

In practice the shape of the insole will be formed by moulding theinsole from a plastics material generally by an injection mouldingtechnique so that the various thicknesses provided by the wedge 17A, theraised medial line 24, the thickening portion 40, and the dome 30 areall part of a moulded structure defining the shape of the insole. Theinsole itself then can be used on a conventional last so as to beapplied onto a conventional outsole and heel to provide the requiredfoot support for the foot of the wearer.

Since various modifications can be made in my invention as herein abovedescribed, and many apparently widely different embodiments of same madewithin the spirit and scope of the claims without department from suchspirit and scope, it is intended that all matter contained in theaccompanying specification shall be interpreted as illustrative only andnot in a limiting sense.

1. A high heel shoe for receiving the foot of a wearer, the shoe being shaped for a left or right foot with a medial shape which is different from a lateral shape and comprising: a shoe outsole, outer shank and a shoe heel for engaging the ground; a shoe insole on which the foot of the wearer is placed including a heel seat extending from a rear of the shoe to a break line across the shoe, an inner shank extending downwardly and forwardly from the break line to a ball line across the shoe and a forefoot in front of the ball line; wherein the heel seat of the insole is arranged such that, with the shoe resting on the ground so as to define an imaginary horizontal line across the heel seat from the lateral edge of the shoe to the medial edge of the shoe, the upper surface of the heel seat on which the heel rests is angled relative to the imaginary line so that the medial edge of the heel seat is lifted upwardly relative to the lateral edge of the heel seat.
 2. The shoe according to claim 1 wherein the heel seat is concave between the medial and lateral edges.
 3. The shoe according to claim 1 wherein the lifting of the heel seat at the medial edge is obtained by providing a thickening of the insole at the heel seat.
 4. The shoe according to claim 1 wherein the medial edge is lifted relative to the lateral edge to define an angle which lies in the range 3-5 degrees.
 5. The shoe according to claim 1 wherein the medial edge is lifted relative to the lateral edge to define an angle which is less than 10 degrees.
 6. The shoe according to claim 1 wherein the medial edge of the heel seat is raised along the length of the heel seat from the rear of the shoe to the break line.
 7. The shoe according to claim 1 wherein the arch support of the insole defines a medial line adjacent the medial edge and a lateral line adjacent the lateral edge each extending from the break line to the ball line where the medial line is raised relative to the lateral line so as to follow the natural shape of the medial long arch of the foot in order to support the natural angle of the calcaneus, the navicular, the medial cuneiform and the first metatarsal.
 8. The shoe according to claim 7 wherein the medial line commences at the break line at a height greater than the lateral line at the break line created by the elevation of the medial edge of the heel seat.
 9. The shoe according to claim 1 wherein a raised dome is provided on the shank of the insole with the dome being spaced inwardly from the lateral edge and outwardly from the medial edge with the dome commencing at or adjacent the ball line and extending upwardly along the shank to a position underlying the base of the metatarsals.
 10. The shoe according to claim 9 wherein the dome is generally triangle shaped in plan tapering upwardly and inwardly from the ball line.
 11. The shoe according to claim 9 wherein the dome extends across the ball line from one apex located behind the second metatarsal head to a second apex behind the fourth metatarsal head.
 12. The shoe according to claim 9 wherein the dome is in the range 0.3 to 1.0 centimetres in height.
 13. The shoe according to claim 9 wherein the dome is formed of a resilient material applied on top of the insole.
 14. The shoe according to claim 1 wherein the insole is of increased thickness at the ball line relative to the forward end of the insole.
 15. The shoe according to claim 14 wherein the increased thickness at the ball line extends in front of the ball line and tapers therefrom in thickness gradually toward the forward end of the insole and extends rearwardly into the shank and tapers gradually rearwardly into the shank.
 16. A high heel shoe for receiving the foot of a wearer, the shoe being shaped for a left or right foot with a medial shape which is different from a lateral shape and comprising: a shoe outsole, outer shank and a shoe heel for engaging the ground; a shoe insole on which the foot of the wearer is placed including a heel seat extending from a rear of the shoe to a break line across the shoe, an inner shank extending downwardly and forwardly from the break line to a ball line across the shoe and a forefoot in front of the ball line; wherein the arch support of the insole defines a medial line adjacent the medial edge and a lateral line adjacent the lateral edge each extending from the break line to the ball line where the medial line is raised relative to the lateral line so as to follow the natural shape of the medial long arch of the foot in order to support the natural angle of the calcaneus, the navicular, the medial cuneiform and the first metatarsal.
 17. The shoe according to claim 16 wherein the medial line commences at the break line at a height greater than the lateral line at the break line created by an elevation of the medial edge of the heel seat.
 18. A high heel shoe for receiving the foot of a wearer, the shoe being shaped for a left or right foot with a medial shape which is different from a lateral shape and comprising: a shoe outsole, outer shank and a shoe heel for engaging the ground; a shoe insole on which the foot of the wearer is placed including a heel seat extending from a rear of the shoe to a break line across the shoe, an inner shank extending downwardly and forwardly from the break line to a ball line across the shoe and a forefoot in front of the ball line; wherein an arched raised dome is provided on the shank of the insole with the dome being spaced inwardly from the lateral edge and outwardly from the medial edge with the dome commencing at or adjacent the ball line and extending upwardly along the shank to a position underlying the base of the metatarsals.
 19. A high heel shoe for receiving the foot of a wearer, the shoe being shaped for a left or right foot with a medial shape which is different from a lateral shape and comprising: a shoe outsole, outer shank and a shoe heel for engaging the ground; a shoe insole on which the foot of the wearer is placed including a heel seat extending from a rear of the shoe to a break line across the shoe, an inner shank extending downwardly and forwardly from the break line to a ball line across the shoe and a forefoot in front of the ball line; wherein the insole is of increased thickness at the ball line relative to the forward end of the insole.
 20. The shoe according to claim 19 wherein the increased thickness at the ball line extends in front of the ball line and tapers therefrom in thickness gradually toward the forward end of the insole and extends rearwardly into the shank and tapers gradually rearwardly into the shank. 